This is a neat product. Simple and effective. If you are a business owner that uses refrigeration this will save you money. An easy way to go green and save some $green.

I am a rep for the eCube.  Contact me. List your refrigerator Make and Model # and I can get you a quote.

cforms contact form by delicious:days

According to the latest issue of the “Monthly Energy Review” by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, renewable energy sources, e.g., biofuels, biomass, geothermal, hydroelectric, solar, and wind, provided 11.37 percent of domestic U.S. energy production in June 2009 – the latest month for which data has been published. In both April and May, renewables accounted for more domestic energy production than nuclear, and in the first six months of 2009 provided 11.18 percent of net U.S. electrical generation.

This is great news. Don’t believe the naysayers that promote renewables as a far off solution and therefore fossil fuels is still way to go. That is a disinformation campaign.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Fossil fuels still getting largest U.S. subsidies (energyrefuge.com)
• Getting Green Power: If You Want It, Prove It (treehugger.com)

Today, America has an unprecedented opportunity to choose between transitioning to a clean energy economy and creating millions of jobs, or staying with the status quo. And the result may depend on you joining us to educate the public about this opportunity in Pennsylvania.

That’s why we’re opening a local office, and we need your help to hit the ground running. Come join us for our office opening in West Chester, Pennsylvania on July 30, 2009. You can be one of the first on the ground floor of our Repower Pennsylvania campaign.

Setting America on a new course towards a clean energy economy is going to take resolve and determination. With your help, we can do it. Our economy and Pennsylvania can’t afford to wait.

http://www.repoweramerica.org/us/pennsylvania

For those of us contemplating rooftop solar,and trying to bridge the gap between what we think it’s going to cost and what we want it to cost, there are a few more options out there these days.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), part of the U.S. Department of Energy, has summarized some of the financing options for residential PV in a recent report, Solar Photovoltaic Financing: Residential Sector Deployment.

Read more at solar-nation.org

Although solar energy has no roots in Pennsylvania, the event was located in Philadelphia because it is at the heart of the Mid-Atlantic region, which has adopted some of the most progressive incentive policies and grant programs throughout the country.

As SEIA president Rhone Resch explained, “The Mid-Atlantic region is emerging as a powerhouse for the PV industry. Policy makers from Massachusetts to Washington D.C. have had the vision to enact the right policies to promote the solar industry over the past several years.”

Dave Foster of the Blue Green Alliance noted that green-collar jobs are mostly just blue-collar jobs with an environmental purpose. While autoworkers are currently unemployed, the auto glass industry has enormous potential for the production of solar panels – just as steel workers are essential in the production of wind turbines.

The biggest news in Pennsylvania, however, has been the introduction of the Sunshine program, which just became available on May 18, thanks to governor Rendell. This grant provides an immediate rebate of up to 35% of the cost of a residential solar panel system and installation.
“In some cases, when you use our rebate and the federal tax cut that the Obama administration has put forward, the cost and installation of a solar system can be cut by more than half,” said Rendell.

The federal tax cut that Rendell was referring to began several years ago, but has recently been improved upon by the Obama Administration’s “stimulus bill.” (More formally known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act). The ITC, or investment tax credit, is worth 30% of the cost of a solar array and installation. With legislation that is slated to take effect later this summer, an immediate lump sum grant of 30% in lieu of the tax credit will be available.

Even with all subsidies accounted for, the remainder of the investment cost is still a tremendous barrier for working and middle-class families. A loan must be secured.  In many cases, the monthly payment on these loans can be set equal to the current electricity bill of the customer. This stabilizes the price paid for electricity over the next several years. With electricity rate caps expiring in 2010, the market value of a kWh is only projected to rise.

Stay tuned for more innovative solar PV options.

Source: Philadelphia Weekly Press

Infinite Solar booth at PV America 2009

I stopped by the Infinite Solar booth and spoke with Sean White and associate Dessie. Sean is an solar course instructor and Diablo Valley College(CA) Adjunct Professor-Advanced Photovoltaic Systems Commercial/ residential solar PV systems design and installation.

Infinite Solar new building is located in northeast Philly and facilitate the education, certification and networking for individuals who currently work or would like to work in the solar energy field. The current course offering:

• 5-day Entry Level Solar PV Installation and Design Course

• 4-day Solar PV Installation and Design Course for Electricians

• 5-day Entry Level Solar Thermal Installation and Design Course

Interested parties cane enroll at their site. www.solarschoolpa.com

Classes are starting  July 20th.

This is good news as solar adoption in the Delaware Valley will be hanpered without sufficient qualified installers to actually get panels on the roofs.

Philadelphia Business Journal reported on Gov. Rendell’s speech today at PV America conference in Philly.

The federal government can help the country escape from recession by launching a five-to-10 year infrastructure revitalization program and by taking steps to boost the production and consumption of alternative energy.

Part of Rendell’s message was similar to the message delivered by SEIA President and CEO Rhone Resch later in the session: When they go home, the people at the conference should promote solar energy’s virtues to everyone from their neighbors to their municipal, state and federal elected officials.

[Ed. note: that is the purpose of this site]

“You have to roll up your sleeves and be advocates,” Rendell said.

Both Rendell and Resch praised President Obama for his efforts on behalf of renewable energy — “President Obama is becoming the solar president,” Resch said — but they said they’d like the federal government to do more.

Twenty eight states, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and the District of Columbia have alternative portfolio standards. Rendell said he’d like the federal standard to have minimum figures that states could exceed on their own.

Rendel said alternative energy will drive the U.S. economy for the next 25 years just as the information-technology and life sciences industries have driven it for the last 25.

Under his leadership, Pennsylvania has moved to capitalize on that shift. In 2004, it established an alternative portfolio standard that requires 18 percent of energy sold in Pennsylvania to come from alternative sources of energy by 2020.

Last summer, Pennsylvania created a $650 million renewable energy fund. Of that money, $180 million is to go to solar energy, consisting of $100 million for loans, grants and rebates to cover up to 35 percent of the costs incurred by home and small-business owners who install solar energy systems, and $80 million for grants and loans for solar economic-development projects.

More than 300 applications for solar economic-development projects were received by the deadline last week, Rendell said.

SRS Energy, a leading developer of sustainable solar roofing products, will exhibit the Sole Power Tile(TM) system, the first building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) roofing product designed for curved roofing systems, in its hometown of Philadelphia at the PV America convention. Presented by the Solar Energy Industries Association, the exhibition takes place June 8, 2009 through June 10, 2009 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

“The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania invited SRS Energy to be a part of its exhibition at PV America, and we couldn’t be more honored to be recognized by government leaders as a contributor to the commonwealth’s growing green economy,” said Marty Low, CEO of SRS Energy. “We are very excited to share the Sole Power Tile(TM) system with our hometown, local contractors and the solar community at large.”

Headquartered in Center City Philadelphia, SRS Energy developed and manufactures the Sole Power Tile(TM) system, a curved solar roofing tile designed to integrate seamlessly with premium clay roof tiles offered by distribution partner US Tile, the largest clay tile manufacturer in the United States. Valley Forge-based CertainTeed, the country’s third-largest roofing company, also acquired an equity stake in SRS Energy in 2008.

SRS Energy is currently building-out a warehouse space in the greater Philadelphia region to create a Sole Power Tile(TM) system manufacturing facility, slated to begin production this fall.

SRS Energy will exhibit Sole Power Tile(TM) at Booth 2111 in partnership with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The product is currently being launched in select West Coast markets. For more information, visit www.srsenergy.com.

Solar-powered trash compactors called BigBellys are being installed along Philadelphia’s sidewalks. The new bins are powered completely by the sun and hold eight times as much waste as a typical city trash can.

The city is installing 500 of the compactors by July and 210 of them will include separate recycling bins. The greatest thing about these compactors is the fact that they will save the city $12.9 million over 10 years since they only need to be emptied five times a week versus 19 times for the regular trash cans, slashing fuel and staff costs. This also offers the benefit of less CO2 emissions from fewer garbage pick-ups.

Read rest of story at EcoGeek

If you are a municapality or company that is interested in BigBellys please inquire over at Princeton Green.

Philly Producer, Director and Writer Jenny Deller’s film pilot is in the running. She needs your votes to win the $350,000 prize and produce the full film. Help her out. Its a story with an climate change twist that is sure to inspire the next generation of budding scientists.

Learn more at film site www.futureweathermovie.com

Anyone can vote.

UPDATE:

We’re finally here – the last stretch of the Netflix competition – and it looks like Future Weather is in first! The finish line – Sunday July 5 at 3AM ET to be exact is approaching fast (That’s 12 AM for all of you on the West Coast ).

Check the leaderboard. Please vote if you haven’t yet.

Lansdowne, PA. – June 1, 2009 /PRAvenueNW/ — After 29 years of watching utility bills increase at the expense of their clients, Blessing Electric decided to help reduce the long term cost of their clients by becoming a PV Solar Installer. “This is another way we can help in the worldwide approach to go GREEN!” – stated Curtis Blessing, Licensed Master Electrician and President of Blessing Electric

Blessing is determined to help his customers reduce the cost of their utility bills over time by installing PV Solar systems for them.

Curtis Blessing is a recent graduate of “Boots on the Roof”, of Freemont, CA. The extensive training provided him with the knowledge to properly install and design a PV solar system which will meet the needs of residential and commercial properties.

What exactly is PV Solar? Photovoltaic, or PV, are electrical devices that convert light into electricity. The light can be from any source. As long as the light is the right color some electricity will be produced from a solar cell. The more intense the light, the more electricity is produced. Each cell produces only a small amount of power, but when the cells are hooked together in larger configurations. The total energy output over a day, month or year can be quite substantial

The photovoltaic effect was first recognized by Edmund Bacquerel, in France, in 1839. Scientists made solar cells of selenium in the 1880’s. The modern PV technologies were developed at Bell Labs and RCA Labs in the mid 1950’s. Early on, they were used for satellites, space ships, solar calculators and electronic watches. PV has been powering ‘off-grid’ homes for nearly 20 years, and has more recently been powering ‘grid-tied’ homes for nearly 10 years.

Blessing says his most frequently ask questions are “How long will the solar panels (modules) last?” and “What is my ROI?” (return on investment). Most solar modules have a 20-25 year output warranty, but should last even longer since there are no moving parts. Experience shows most system problems occur because they have not been installed properly. It is important to routinely observe the general performance of the PV system in order to maximize its production. The average payback period is around 10 years. The return on investment is between 5% & 10%.

Blessing states, “Blessing Electric is ready to bring the future of Solar Power to the public. We’ve formed alliances with the top solar component distributors to bring new and existing clients the best prices in the industry. By ‘Going Solar’, our customers receive a great return on their investment and also live a greener lifestyle; not to mention the savings on their electric bill!”

Blessing goes on to emphasizes, “I will personally come to your location anywhere in PA, NJ or DE and provide a price to design/build and install your PV Solar system. This price will include an extensive analysis and ROI (return on investment).” “I will be the one you meet and have direct contact with.” Blessing continues to say “although I have trained and talented employees who will be also a part of your project, you will always have direct contact with me.”

As many people know, the State and Federal Government will help pay for a good portion of the installation cost, but there will be a time limit.

Blessing encourages his clients, both residential and commercial to ‘Go Solar’ and benefit from the power of the sun. He states, “Going Solar, throughout Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey is one of our top priorities. With Blessing Electric’s team of talented employees, experience, along with the qualifications to design/ build and meet all specifications required per project, this company is on the right path, the solar path.”

For more information contact: Blessing Electric
26 First Street Lansdowne, PA 19050,
(610) 394-2211 (610) 394-2240 Fax,
www.blessingelectric.com,    blessingelectric@verizon.net.

Philadelphians just let out a big breath. Finally the stars aligned. ‘80 and ‘08

Brad Lidge was the best closer in baseball

Celebration is everywhere

Our Heros on Parade

Yes, It Really Happened: We are the Champions

What an exciting close to the pennant race.

In order to attract the international leaders we have to the state, and to lure other potential businesses, we realized we had to provide some guarantees that the markets they serve would exist. That’s where the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act comes in. By signing that bill in 2004, we created guaranteed markets for renewable energy producers. This is an approach that’s largely unique to Pennsylvania; many other states with renewable energy portfolio standards did not establish clear goals for different technologies, such as solar.

With completion of the Epuron project in southeastern Pennsylvania this fall, we’ll have more than 0.6 megawatt installed by the end of the year. And that’s just the beginning. Under the state’s renewable energy requirements, electricity from solar photovoltaics must account for one-half of 1 percent of all energy sold in Pennsylvania by 2021. This solar set-aside will result in the construction of at least 850 megawatts of new solar capacity; that will be an increase of more than 141,000 percent!

And because solar is still more expensive in relation to other energy sources, developing that technology faces more of a hurdle. Such is not the case in Pennsylvania. We have a clearly defined market for solar power, and companies that locate here will find the demand they need to succeed. It’s our requirements that has led the installed renewable capacity levels in Pennsylvania to grow so rapidly. Our success can also be measured in terms of sheer investment and employment figures. Because of our Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act, we have attracted more than $1 billion in economic growth in projects that have helped create about 3,000 new jobs in the solar, wind and biofuels industries and other areas that support these sectors.

While we pride ourselves as the new North American home of firms like Conergy, Iberdrola and Gamesa, equally as exciting are the smaller to mid-size firms that are either start-ups or companies in their early growth stage. We have businesses like AE Polysilicon that will soon begin producing the polysilicon material used for solar cells and modules that convert solar energy into electricity, Axion Power International, which is an industry leader in the development of advanced batteries and energy storage devices, and Solar Power Industries, who is poised to become one of the nation’s largest producers of low-cost solar cells.

“Today I challenge our nation to commit to producing 100 percent of our electricity from renewable energy and truly clean carbon-free sources within 10 years.”

Here’s a key bit from Gore’s speech:

Like a lot of people, it seems to me that all these problems are bigger than any of the solutions that have thus far been proposed for them, and that’s been worrying me…

Yet when we look at all three of these seemingly intractable challenges at the same time, we can see the common thread running through them, deeply ironic in its simplicity:  our dangerous over-reliance on carbon-based fuels is at the core of all three of these challenges—the economic, environmental and national security crises.

We’re borrowing money from China to buy oil from the Persian Gulf to burn it in ways that destroy the planet. Every bit of that’s got to change…

But if we grab hold of that common thread and pull it hard, all of these complex problems begin to unravel and we will find that we’re holding the answer to all of them right in our hand.

The answer is to end our reliance on carbon-based fuels.

Can we really get all our electricity from sources like solar and wind in 10 short years?

And of course, all this means more good jobs to re-power our economy:

When we send money to foreign countries to buy nearly 70 percent of the oil we use every day, they build new skyscrapers and we lose jobs. When we spend that money building solar arrays and windmills, we build competitive industries and gain jobs here at home.

With all the political posturing on high gas prices and drilling, it’s amazing to hear someone being so honest:

It is only a truly dysfunctional system that would buy into the perverse logic that the short-term answer to high gasoline prices is drilling for more oil ten years from now.

Am I the only one who finds it strange that our government so often adopts a so-called solution that has absolutely nothing to do with the problem it is supposed to address? When people rightly complain about higher gasoline prices, we propose to give more money to the oil companies and pretend that they’re going to bring gasoline prices down. It will do nothing of the sort, and everyone knows it…

However, there actually is one extremely effective way to bring the costs of driving a car way down within a few short years. The way to bring gas prices down is to end our dependence on oil and use the renewable sources that can give us the equivalent of $1 per gallon gasoline.

Go to WeCanSoveIt and spread the word.

San Francisco is paying its way to become a more energy efficient place by helping its citizens afford solar panels. The city’s board of supervisors recently approved the Solar Energy Incentive Program, GoSolarSF, which is now the country’s largest municipal solar program. With an annual budget of $3 million for the next 10 years, the program offers up to $6,000 to residents and up to $10,000 for businesses in the form of tax incentives for private solar installations. It will give out even more than that to low-income San Franciscans and nonprofit, multi-family residences. The program’s goal is to eventually have 10,000 solar rooftops in the city compared to the 770 they have right now. The program started accepting applications on July 1, 2008. Once they begin building, other cities will hopefully start to spend a little also.

How about it Philly?

From PennFuture

The Clean Energy Funding bill, passed July 4, created $650 million in funding for renewable energy and energy conservation, including $180 million for solar.

Almost as soon as the legislation passed, PennFuture started receiving calls and emails from homeowners who want to install solar energy systems. One caller wants to install a solar system on every house in a small development and the adjacent two farms, and create a co-op to sell excess power. Most homeowners just want to know when they can get help to install single-residence solar power systems.

Judging by the response we got, the market for residential-scale solar systems is incredibly robust. The energy funding bill will provide $100 million for installation of solar power systems on homes and small businesses paying up to 35 percent of the cost. The other $80 million will go to larger, commercial solar projects and help build an industry in Pennsylvania that makes the components for solar power systems of all sizes.

From PennFuture

Historic Global Warming Plan (SB 266)
Not a moment too soon, the state legislature passed the Pennsylvania Climate Change Act, the state’s first meaningful legislation on global warming. This bipartisan legislation passed with overwhelming support, sending a strong message that our elected officials understand the economic, environmental, and health risks from global warming, and the opportunities ahead to grow our economy and spur job creation while attacking the problem.

The Climate Change Act requires an inventory of the sources and amounts of global warming pollution in Pennsylvania. It will establish a registry to allow businesses and industry to track their greenhouse gas emissions, and to get credit when they reduce their pollution. It also creates a stakeholder group to advise the Department of Environmental Protection about plan implementation, and directs the DEP to develop a state plan to cut emissions.

From PennFuture

Clean Energy Funding (SSHB 1)
Pennsylvania is now firmly on the fast track to creating great, family-sustaining green jobs throughout the Commonwealth. The General Assembly passed a $650 million energy fund, front-loading most of that investment ($500 million) into the first few years. This gives Pennsylvania a national (and international) competitive advantage as we seek to attract more clean energy businesses and jobs that can’t be outsourced.

Pennsylvania now has a major solar program, with $100 million for grants, loans or rebates to consumers for up to 35 percent of the purchase and installation price of solar photovoltaic systems in their residences or small businesses, and another $80 million allocated for grants and loans for solar energy production projects. The reminder of the funding goes to deployment and manufacturing of other clean energy technologies, energy efficient heating and cooling systems, and support of early stage activities and research in clean energy. There are specific allocations of funding for green buildings, geothermal and wind, LIHEAP, alternative energy production tax credits and a home energy efficiency loan program.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — National Semiconductor Corp. is the latest technology company getting into the renewables industry with a chip that can make solar panels work more efficiently.

The company said Monday it would enter the photovoltaic market with its SolarMagic technology, which it claims can recoup as much as 50 percent of the energy lost to imperfect conditions, such as shading, dirt accumulation and panel mismatches.

“National’s entry into the photovoltaic market is a natural extension of our focus on energy efficient systems,” Brian L. Halla, National’s chairman and CEO, said in a statement. “Our technologists solved this real-world problem and are enabling consumers to produce more energy under adverse conditions and reduce the payback time of their investment with an environmentally friendly source of power.”

The company is currently conducting field trials with REgrid Power Inc., with plans to enlist other companies in the coming months.

“We have observed energy output improvements of up to 44 percent during shaded conditions and 12 percent overall versus the same system running without SolarMagic technology,” said Tom McCalmont, REgrid’s president and CEO.

photo credit: Ikhlasul Amal